Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Good News About Housing Recovery… Your Kids Will be Living With You for a Long Time 2-22-2014Recently released surveys from both Gallup and Pew Research Center showed that as many as 36 percent of Americans 18 to 31 years old are still living with their parents… the highest level ever recorded. And Time Magazine says we’ve got 25 million adults kids still living with mom and dad... You’ve heard about the housing recovery, right? How could you not? On any given day these days, you can find the good news about housing markets in this country all over the media… prices are recovering, or so the story goes. The only problem with the “news” is that as of January 30th of this year, sales of existing U.S. homes plunged to the worst pace in 18 months. Read More at Mandelman MattersHomeowner Alert: Scammer Masquerades as Bank, Offers Fake Loan Mods 2-22-2014As if REAL loan modifications weren’t often illusory enough, now there are scammers masquerading as banks, offering FAKE LOAN MODIFICATIONS… and if that weren’t bad enough, the fake mods require homeowners to pay thousands of dollars for nothing. This past week, Illinois consumer attorney Rick Rogers reported that a homeowner in the Chicago area, a school teacher who had been trying for a couple years to get her loan modified had not been approved… and her home was going into foreclosure. She kept trying though until one day this past fall she received a letter that appeared to say that Bank of America was now approving her loan modification. Read More at Mandelman MattersUncertainty in the Loan Mod Process is Barrier to U.S. Economic Growth 2-21-2014"...why doesn't anyone talk about the monument to uncertainty that's been placed square on the collective chest of the American homeowner... the loan modification process? It's the proverbial life preserver for the underwater homeowner at risk of losing a home to foreclosure that sinks more often than it floats... and often times no one knows why. And it's the poster-child for uncertainty.'' Read More at Mandelman Matters